hypochondria

hypochondria is a serious mental disorder.Those affected are firmly convinced that they are suffering from a serious illness without this having been confirmed by a medical diagnosis. Those affected are usually very aware of their behavior, but still cannot control their fears.

What is hypochondria?

The mental disorder hypochondria manifests itself in an unfounded fear disorder of illnesses. People with hypochondria suffer from a fear of suffering from a serious illness.

You can usually tell exactly which illness you are afraid of. If the doctor cannot confirm the fear of those affected with an appropriate diagnosis, different doctors are usually consulted. However, patients with hypochondria usually do not believe the doctors' tests and results.

Many people with hypochondria are well aware of their irrational behavior but cannot control it. Often there is a risk of social withdrawal and loneliness.

causes

To date it has not been finally clarified what the causes for hypochondria are. However, it is believed that social, psychological and biological factors play a role in its development. In general, people with hypochondria are anxious and very cautious people.

Congenital anxiety can develop into hypochondria through appropriate educational influences or very painful events. Mental stress also seems to play a role in the development.

Studies have shown that in people with hypochondria, the limbic system is overactive and easily influenced. In this area of ​​the brain, feelings are processed and attention is drawn to certain situations. This discovery could prove that biological factors do indeed play a role.

Symptoms, ailments & signs

People who suffer from hypochondria are usually very afraid of getting sick. This fear limits the life of these people significantly, so that it can also lead to psychological problems. In addition, there is concern about pain, disability or even death.

In some cases, the affected people get stuck with a specific disease. Hypochondriacs often do intensive self-research on certain diseases, symptoms and signs. Information is collected and, as a rule, completely exaggerated. Conversations with other people are avoided, so that hypochondriacs very often have a disturbed social life.

You have an urgent need to clarify possible symptoms immediately. Possible symptoms are perceived in an increased manner and constant visits to the doctor follow. People who suffer from hypochondria are entangled with suffering from a particular disease.

This leads to catastrophic thoughts about your own condition, as well as severe panic attacks. The thoughts will increase significantly over time if no therapy is used. It is usually very difficult for outsiders to recognize hypochondria. For this reason, greater attention should be paid to the signs mentioned above.

Diagnosis & course

hypochondria is a mental disorder that is very difficult to diagnose not very often. To make a clear diagnosis, the disorder must have been around for at least six months. This makes the diagnosis very difficult, because as a rule those affected often change the treating doctor as soon as the doctor determines that the feared disease is not present. Most hypochondriacs simply cannot imagine that they are perfectly healthy. Some of them hope to actually have a dangerous illness so that their ideas are confirmed.

In addition, many doctors are reluctant to diagnose hypochondria because they fear they have overlooked a physical condition. In addition, those affected rarely see a specialist in mental illness because they firmly believe they have a physical illness.

In addition to a detailed survey of the symptoms present, a reliable diagnosis also includes questions about the prevailing fears and the degree of self-observation of those affected. In addition, the doctor tries to differentiate the hypochondria from other possibly existing obsessive-compulsive fears by asking specific questions.

Obsessive-compulsive anxiety and also hypochondria are often associated with depression. Here, too, the doctor tries to differentiate the individual symptoms from one another, whereby other obsessive-compulsive anxieties, depression and hypochondria often coexist.

Complications

Hypochondria primarily leads to severe psychological complaints and depression. In severe cases, however, it can also lead to physical complaints and complications, so that in the worst case the person concerned dies due to hypochondria. As a rule, the patient thinks that they have a certain disease when they do not.

There are sweats and panic attacks. Those affected are often restless and uncomfortable; in many cases, social contacts are avoided or immediately broken off. Furthermore, there may be strong palpitations. It is not uncommon for patients to take medication that is actually not necessary because there is no underlying disease. In this case, the drugs can cause harm to the body and damage certain organs.

Likewise, a doctor is often consulted for no reason. The depression and misconceptions often lead to social exclusion. The treatment of hypochondria is carried out by a psychologist and usually does not lead to further complications. However, it may take a long time for the treatment to have an initial effect.

When should you go to the doctor?

People who suffer from severe anxiety should always see a therapist. If there is an increase in anxiety or if the fear-related issues increase, a visit to the doctor is advisable. If the day-to-day obligations can no longer be fulfilled, if the person concerned suffers from emotional distress, or if the complaints have an impact on social behavior, a doctor is required. The fear of a serious illness leads to immense emotional stress.

In the event of sweating, disorders of concentration, sleep problems, shortness of breath or increased irritability, a doctor's visit is recommended. If you experience social withdrawal, phases of depression or melancholy, deteriorated mood and a racing heart, you should consult a doctor. Usually there is a lack of insight into the disease in hypochondria, since the person concerned does not consider it possible to be healthy. It is therefore helpful to build a stable and trusting environment.

Although patients with hypochondria frequently change doctors, it is helpful for the overall picture if the entire medical history is presented at each visit. Those affected often suffer for many years and should trust a therapist as soon as they realize that they need help to strengthen them emotionally. A doctor should be consulted if there is a lack of energy, resignation and simultaneous inner turmoil.

Doctors & therapists in your area

Treatment & Therapy

To a hypochondria Cognitive behavior therapy is used to treat successfully. First and foremost, however, a certain amount of insight and cooperation on the part of the person concerned is necessary in order to get the mental disorder under control. In therapy, those affected learn to realistically assess their entire body and their complaints in a completely new way.

Many behaviors in everyday life also have to be relativized and, in some cases, relearned in people who suffer from hypochondria. There are those affected who avoid shaking hands to greet other people for fear of infection. This would be such an everyday behavior that would have to be reassessed and learned by the person concerned.

Furthermore, in cognitive behavioral therapy, the focus is always on future patient complaints. You should learn to assess this realistically from the first appearance. This also means that those affected stop making excessive inquiries about any serious illnesses that could be the trigger for the symptoms they feel.

For the successful treatment of hypochondria, the unconditional insight and assistance of those affected is essential at every stage of therapy.

You can find your medication here

prevention

Preventive measures against hypochondria can only be taken by those who fear hypochondria. Anyone who feels a great fear of serious illnesses and catches themselves in the process of fear of the worst in the event of ailments should try to establish a relationship of trust with the treating doctor.

Only in this way is it possible, fortunately, to have a negative diagnosis, to believe the doctor and to eliminate the fear. In addition, anyone who fears hypochondria should try to be open to psychosomatic treatment. This is the only way to treat an existing hypochondria.

Aftercare

Because hypochondria is a mental disorder, follow-up care must be lifelong. Follow-up care measures therefore begin at the end of therapy, which usually takes place with a psychologist. Follow-up care looks different for patients with hypochondria, but is based on a common framework.

In psychotherapy, those affected usually worked out factors that led to the onset of hypochondria. Awareness of these factors now forms the starting point for maintaining a stable mental state and preventing relapses. Patients must develop sufficient sensitivity to their own well-being and to risky external factors.

In particular, strokes of fate or illnesses in the family have the potential to cause intolerable levels of stress to mentally unstable people, which can lead to renewed hypochondria. If patients notice that they are overwhelmed by new situations in their life or experience other emotional complaints, the previous psychotherapist or a psychological emergency center should be contacted immediately.

The sooner you turn in, the greater the chances that a renewed outbreak of the disease can be avoided. Self-help groups are an option for patients to find understanding and exchange even after the illness, which makes it easier to deal with the mental disorder.

You can do that yourself

Hypochondria is a disorder in which those affected, possibly with therapeutic support, can actively work in their everyday life to build up the agonizing fears surrounding alleged diseases step by step.

This includes first of all that the patient makes the inner decision to trust a doctor's diagnosis and advice after the examination. Seeking other doctors for second opinions (the so-called "doctor-hopping") only creates short-term reassurance and often increases the hypochondria over time, as does constant research on one's own symptoms on the Internet (cyberchondria).

Another important building block for people affected by hypochondria is to have confidence in their own body again. In many cases, this can be achieved through athletic training with a gentle start and dosed load. As a result, the patient regains confidence in his performance and the fear of serious illnesses such as a heart attack can be reduced and, ideally, completely eliminated.

Distractions such as social activities can also help break the constant preoccupation with your own body and the associated negative cycle of thoughts. In this context, learning a relaxation method or yoga also helps. In addition, CDs with guided fantasy journeys support the hypochondriac's ability to relax.